Gukesh keeps winning in Spain

by Shahid Ahmed
7/11/2022 – Indian prodigy Gukesh won his fifth consecutive tournament in Spain, fourth in this year. He scored an unbeaten 8/9 to win the 14th Gijon City Closed tournament, finishing 1½ points ahead of the competition. The youngest GM of India gained 9.7 Elo points and is now less than 7 points away from reaching the 2700-rating barrier. | Photo: Gijón 64

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A single round-robin in Gijón

Gukesh has now won five consecutive tournaments in Spain without conceding a single game. He has not lost a game in Spain since 21 December 2019. His current unbeaten streak is at 16 games. A 2800 performance at the 14th Gijon City Closed tournament helped him climb 13 places from world number 54 to number 41 in the live ratings list!

The 16-year-old started his Spanish run last year in September by winning the Concello de Carballo tournament. Then he won the La Roda Open, the Menorca Open, the Formentera Open, and now the 10-player single round-robin in Gijón.

Gukesh reached a 2693 Elo rating to become the second-highest rated junior player in the world, only behind Alireza Firouzja.

In round 7, the youngster defeated Paraguayan GM Neuris Delgado with the white pieces.

 

One of the prominent traits of a strong player is his or her ability to seize the opportunity when a mistake is made by the opponent. Delgado’s 20...Ba5 at a first glance may seem fine. However, a careful inspection reveals that Black not only lacks space on the queenside, but also cannot provide enough support to the a4-pawn.

White is happy to trade the bishops with 21.Bxa5 Qxa5. The c3-square has been vacated and van be best occupied by a knight to attack the a4-pawn. The rest is just a matter of time and technique. Gukesh swiftly converted his advantage into a win.

 

Interview with Gukesh (by Sagar Shah)

Final standings

No.   Name Ctry. Pts. Rtg.
1 GM Gukesh D IND 8 2684
2 GM Fier, Alexandr BRA 6½ 2567
3 IM Gines Esteo, Pedro Antonio ESP 6 2455
4 GM Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley CUB 6 2497
5 GM Delgado Ramirez, Neuris PAR 5½ 2614
6 IM Garrido Outon, Alex ESP 4 2436
7 WIM Forgas Moreno, Yaniela CUB 3½ 2343
8 FM Alvarez Fernandez, Enrique ESP 3 2329
9 IM Panelo, Marcelo ARG 1½ 2383
10 IM Tejedor Fuente, Enrique ESP 1 2419

All games

 

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Shahid Ahmed is the senior coordinator and editor of ChessBase India. He enjoys covering chess tournaments and also likes to play in chess events from time to time.